!!9.5 


A 
A 

0 
0 
0 
9 

SOL 

JTHERNREGIi 

3 

1 

3 

ONAL  LIBRAR' 

1 
4 

9 

y  FACILITY 

[      Lll 


LIBRARY  ^ 

I       UNIVe,NS,TY  Of 
I       '  CALIPORNIA 
I    -     SAN  DIESO 


^  IHE  UNIVbKSIIY  Llbr;Mr\. 
WWERSITT  OF  CALIFOFNIA,  SAN  ^^W 
LA  JOLLA.  CALIfOKNIA 

ADDRESSES 

OK 

JOHN  ROMEYN  BRODHEAD,  ESQ., 

AND 

His  Excellency,  Gov.  HORATIO  SEYMOUR, 

DELIVERED  BEFORE  THE 

CLINTON  HALL  ASSOCIATION, 


AND 


MERCANTILE  LIBRARY  ASSOCIATION, 

AT    THEIR 

CELEBRATION,  COMMEMORATIVE  OF  THE  REMOVAL  OF 
THE  LIBRARY  TO  ASTOR  PLACE, 

HELD  IN  THE  CnUKCII   OF  THE  PUrjTANS,  UNION  SQUARE,  ON    THE 
EVENING  OF  8tii  JUNE,  1854. 


WITH   REPORTS   THEN   SUBMITTED. 


NEW-YORK : 

GEO.   F.  NESBITT  &  CO.,  PRINTERS,  COR.  WALL  AND  WATER-STS. 

1854. 


y^ 


F 

BOARD   OF  TRUSTEES         g— i 


CLINTON  HALL  ASSOCIATION. 


1854. 


WILSON  G.  HUNT,  President. 
CHAS.  E.  MILNOE,  Secretary.  \  EDMUND  COFFIN,   Treasurer 

THOMAS  H.  FAILE,  I  ROBERT  KELLY, 

GEORGE  S.  ROBBINS,  I  FREDERICK  SHELDON. 


OFFICERS  OF  THE  MERCANTI1.E  EIBRARV  ASSOCIATION. 


D.  REYNOLDS  BUDD,  President. 
DOUGLASS  LEFFINGWELL, 

Cor.  Secy, 


GEORGE  C.  WOOD,  Vice-Pres'L 
WM.  H.  GILDER,  Pec.  Secy. 
WILLIAM  H.  TAYLOR.   Treas'r 


DIRECTORS. 


GEORGE  M.  SIMONSON, 
FRANK  W.  BALLARD, 
CHARLES  D.  STURGES, 


JOSEPH  C.  MORTON, 
JOHN  CRERAR, 
JOSEPH  M.  PRICE, 


HENRY  A.  THOMAS. 
S.  HASTINGS  GRANT,  Librarian.    |      AUG.  D.  WHITE,  Ass't  Librarian 


Clinton  Hall,  22d  May,  1854. 

John  Romeyn  Broduead,  Esq.,  Naval  Officer  of  the  Port. 

Siu  : 

The  Clinton  Hall  and  Mercantile  Library  Association  of  this  city, 
being  about  to  conimemorate  the  removal  of  their  Library,  to  its  new 
quarters,  in  Astor  Place,  by  some  literary  ceremonies  to  take  place  on 
the  evening  of  the  8th  prox.,  are  very  desirous  of  obtaining  yonr 
services,  in  the  delivery  of  an  address  before  them,  on  that  occasion. 

'i'ho  Governor  of  our  State  has  kindly  consented  to  be  present,  and 
as  he  will  treat  of  the  general  aim  and  influence  of  our  Institutions,  it  is 
our  earnest  wish  that  their  past  history  may  receive  from  your  able  hand 
a  lasting  shape.  Feeling  that  your  literary  position  in  our  State,  and 
official  connection  with  the  commercial  interests  of  our  city,  clearly  point 
them  to  you,  as  the  one,  from  whom  to  seek  such  a  service,  they  will 
indulge  the  hope  that  the  pressure  of  your  engagements  may  not  prevent 
a  compliance  with  their  request. 

With  great  respect,  I  remain  your  ob't  serv't 

CHAS.  E.  MILNOR, 

%      Secretary  C.  H.  Association. 


New- York,  23f/  May,  ISSt. 
Sir: 

I  have  received  your  note  of  yesterday,  conveying  the  desire  of  the 
Clinton  Hall  and  Mercantile  Library  Associations,  that  I  should  take  a 
part  in  the  ceremonies,  at  the  inauguration  of  their  new  building,  on  the 
evening  of  the  of  8th  June. 

Feeling   a  very  deep  interest  in  your  noble  institutions,   I   cannot 

decline    their    flattering  invitation  ;    and    begging    you    to    accept  my 

acknowledgment  of  the   handsome  terras  in  which  you  have  made  your 

wishes  known, 

1  remain,  sincerely  yours, 

JOHN  ROMEYN  BRODHEAD. 

Chas.  E.  Milnor.  Esq.,  ) 

Sec'y  C.  H.  Association.  ) 


Clinton  Hai.l,  Uth  June.  1854. 

John  RojIeyn  Brodhead.  Esq.,  Nev:-York. 

Sir: 

In  conformity  with  resolutions  passed  at  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees  of  the  Clinton  Hall  Association,  held  this  day,  I  beg  to  tender 
you  their  sincere  thanks,  for  the  very  valuable  and  disinterested  service 
rendered  this  institution  by  you,  in  the  delivery  of  the  interesting  paper, 
prepared  by  you,  for  the  inaugural  ceremonies,  had  at  the  Church  of  the 
Puritans,  on  the  evening  of  the  8th  June. 

I  desire,  further,  to  present  their  earnest  request,  that  you  will  fur- 
nish them  with  a  copy  of  the  same,  as  it  is  their  wish  to  publish  it,  in 
connection  with  the  remarks  of  Gov.  Seymour,  on  that  occasion,  in 
pamphlet  form. 

With  respect,  I  remain,  your  ob't  serv't, 

CHAS.  E.  MILNOR, 

Secreiarij  C.  II.  Association. 


New-York,  15^//  June.  1854, 
Sir: 

I  acknowledge,  with  great  pleasure,  your  communication  of  the  12th 
instant,  in  behalf  of  the  Trustees  of  the  Clinton  Hall  Association,  and 
place  the  manuscript  of  my  address,  herewith  sent,  at  your  disposal. 

I  remain,  sir,  with  great  regard,  sincerely  yours, 

JOHN  ROMEYN  BRODHEAD. 

Chas.  E.  Milnor,  Esq.,  I 

Scc'y  Clinton  H.  Association.  \ 


ADDRESS 


3Dl}n  Uomcijn  i3robl)eab,  €b(\„ 


NAVAL  OFFICER  OF  THE  POET. 


"  Promote  commerce,  *  *  *  *  whereby  the  Manhattans 
"  must  prosper — ^her  population  increase — her  trade  and 
"  navigation  flourish.  For  when  these  once  become  per- 
"  manently  established — when  the  ships  of  New  Netherland 
"  ride  on  every  part  of  the  ocean — then  numbers  now  look- 
"  ing  to  that  coast  with  eager  eyes  will  be  allured  to  em- 
"  bark  for  your  island." 

Such  was  the  advice  and  prophesy  which  the  mercantile 
directors  of  the  Dutch  "West  India  Company  addressed  from 
Amsterdam  to  their  Provincial  officers  here,  in  the  Avinter  of 
1652. 

At  that  time, — now  a  little  over  two  centuries  ago — New 
Amsterdam  was  about  to  become  an  incorporated  city.  Its 
population  was,  perhaps,  eight  hundred  souls.  For  more 
than  forty  years  the  island  of  Manhattan  had  been  the  point 
to  which  the  sagacity  of  Holland  merchants  had  directed 
their  trans-atlantic  enterprise.  Their  country  had  always 
been  commercial.  The  legend  on  their  earliest  coins  pre- 
dicted their  way  to  be  "  on  the  sea,  and  their  paths  in  many 
waters."  The  "  Great  River  of  the  Mountains,^^  Avhich  Hud- 
son had  explored  for  them  in  1609,  was  soon  awakened  from 
the  lethargy  of  uncivilized  nature,  and  its  flir-flowing  stream 


8 

became  the  channel  of  peaceful  trade.  At  the  head  of 
navigation,  a  stockaded  fort,  built  in  1614,  near  the  present 
site  of  Albany,  was  the  depositor}^  where  cargoes  of  furs, 
bought  from  Iroquois  hunters,  were  collected  for  shipment 
atthe  rivers  mouth  to  Holland  markets.  The  same  year 
witnessed  the  launch  of  the  first  vessel  constructed^  by  Eu- 
ropeans at  New- York.  It  was  a  yacht  of  sixteen  tons  bur- 
then, built  by  Adriaen  Block,  to  replace  his  Amsterdam 
ship  which  had  been  destroyed  by  fire.  For  many  years 
afterwards,  this  little  vessel — most  appropriately  named  "The 
Restless,"  as  if  to  typify  the  activity  which  was  to  make 
Manhattan  the  proud  emporium  she  now  is — was  employed 
in  exploring  Long  Island  Sound  and  the  Delaware  Bay,  and 
in  trading  with  the  native  savages.  All  honor  to  that  brave 
bark  and  her  constructor  !  The  annals  of  commercial  New- 
York  will  ever  gratefully  record  "  The  Restless  "  as  the 
pioneer  vessel  launched  by  white  men  on  her  waters,  and  as 
her  first  shipbuilder,  Adriaen  Block. 

As  time  rolled  on,  the  importance  of  Manhattan  grew ; 
and  in  1626  the  island  was  purchased  from  its  Indian  owners 
by  the  Dutch  West .  India  Company  for  sixty  guilders,  or 
about  twenty-four  dollars  of  our  present  currency.  This  in- 
cident is  one  of  the  most  interesting  in  our  early  annals,  and 
well  does  it  deserve  commemoration.  "  Not  as  the  conqueror 
comes  "  came  the  founders  of  New-York.  They  came  from 
a  land  of  honest  traders,  Avhcre  mercantile  faith  Avas  the 
guiding  star.  They  brought  with  them  hither  maxims  and 
habits  wliich  had  made  Amsterdam  great — which  were  to 
make  New  Amsterdam  greater.  Almost  their  first  act  was 
to  superadd  to  the  original  Dutch  title,  by  discovery  and  oc- 
cupation, the  higher  right  of  title  by  purchase.  It  was  an 
honest  sale: — let  mc  add,  it  was  an  lionest  hargnin.  For, 
however,  some  may  now  be  inclined  to  carp  at  the  inade- 


9 

quacy  of  consideration  ^vdlen  estimating  tiie  present  value  of 
corner  lots,  your  skill  as  accountants  will  readily  suggest 
tliat  twenty-four  dollars,  with  compound  interest  from  1626, 
would  make  a  very  respectable  figure  upon  the  plethoric 
books  of  our  Tax  Commissioners.  If  ever  E«.ropeans  ac- 
quired an  honest  title  to  American  territorj^,  the  Batavian 
settlers  of  New- York  surely  had  it. 

Not  long  afterwards,  another  incident  occurred  here, 
which  it  is  very  fitting  to  relate  in  this  assembly  of  com- 
mercial men.  In  the  year  1631,  a  merchant  frigate  of  eight 
hundred  tons  burthen,  and  mounting  thirt}^  gi^iis,  was  built 
and  launched  at  Manhattan,  and  dispatched  to  Holland.  This 
great  ship  Avas  not  only  by  for  the  largest  that  had  ever  been 
attempted  in  America,  but  it  was  probably  one  of  the  most 
capacious  merchantmen  at  that  time  afloat.  Its  size  and  con- 
struction attracted  attention  in  England  at  tha1>  early  day  to 
the  skill  of  our  naval  architects;  and  it  was  nearly  two 
centuries  before  the  shipwrights  of  New-York  again  began 
to  build  trading  vessels  which  surpassed  the  mammoth  pro- 
portions of  the  pioneer  ship   "  New  Netherland." 

The  admirable  position  of  this  island  early  indicated  it  as 
the  centre  of  a  far-reachino;  commerce.  And  it  is  a  signifi- 
cant  fact  that  New- York  was  always  a  city  of  the  world. 
Venerating  the  liberal  example  of  their  Fatherland,  its  first 
occupants  looked  upon  commerce  as  the  "  solvent  of  na- 
tional anti]3athies."  They  made  residence  and  loyalty  the 
only  conditions  of  citizenship.  And  so,  AValloons,  Wal- 
denses,  Huguenots,  Swedes,  Anabaptists,  Roman  Catholics, 
German  Lutherans,  English  Puritans  and  English  Quakers, 
all  came  to  seat  themselves  quietly  doAvn  beside  the  Calvinis- 
tic  natives  of  Holland. 

In  the  year  1643,  Father  Isaac  Jogues — one  of  the  most 
illustrious  of  those  Jesuit  missionaries,  whose  self-denying 
zeal  in  bearing  the  cross  to  the  heathen  has  left  so  briglit  a 
record  on  the  book  of  time,  and  so  worthy  an  example  for 


10 

imitation — visited  tlie  island  of  Manhattan,  where  he  was 
courteously  received  and  entertained  by  the  Dutch  Gover- 
nor. He  describes  it  as  then  containing  about  four  or  five 
hundred  men  of  different  sects  and  nations,  and  speaking 
"  eighteen  different  languages."'  The  Calvinistic  faith  was 
predominant ;  but  the  Jesuit  father  found  Catholics  and 
Puritans,  and  Lutherans,  all  enjoying  the  advantages  of  a 
tolerant  and  inviting  home.  Indeed,  it  may  be  truly  said, 
that,  in  the  cordial  welcome  which  its  earliest  Dutch  burghers 
gave  to  all  strangers  of  every  race  and  creed  who  desired  to 
settle  among  them,  may  be  observed  the  origin  of  that  large 
and  comprehensive  spirit  Avhich  has  made  our  city  "the  at- 
tractive metropolis  of  the  Columbian  world." 

Ten  years  after  this  visit  of  Father  Jogues,  the  first  muni- 
cipal government  was  organized  here,  and  New  Amsterdam 
became,  in  fact,  a  city  on  the  second  day  of  February,  1653. 
This  was  followed  in  1657  by  the  establishment  of  the  sys- 
tem of  Burghership,  bv  which  all  residents  who  kept  "  light 
and  fire  "  within  the  city  walls,  and  who  contributed  a  cer- 
tain sum  to  its  treasury,  were  invested  with  peculiar  civic 
privileges.  The  next  year  its  merchants,  availing  themselves 
of  a  favorable  opj)ortunity,  dispatched  a  l)ark  to  Quebec 
with  a  cargo  of  sugar  and  tobacco,  upon  which  all  duties 
were  remitted  in  consideration  of  its  being  the  "  first  vo}'- 
age  "  from  Manhattan  to  Canada.  In  1659,  the  AVest  India 
Company,  adopting  a  more  liberal  jjolicy,  allowed  their  pro- 
vince a  foreign  commerce  with  France,  Spain,  Ital}^,  the 
West  Indies  and  elsewhere,  upon  condition  that  the  return 
cargoes  should  be  brought  either  to  New  Netherland  or  to 
Holland,  l^arly  in  the  following  year  an  inter-colonial 
treaty  was  arranged  for  a  "free;  trade  and  commerce"  be- 
tween New  Netherland  and  Virginia.  The  inhabitants  of 
each  province  were  promised  reciprocal  rights  and  privi- 
leges, and  tlic  roloiiiiil  nntlioi-itics,  on  both  sides,  vied  with 
each  other  in  cniiils  to  <>\vi-   i'wW   cllect,  to  the   tn-afv.     The 


LI 

home  government  in  Holland  pr(  )inptly  approved  tlie  negotia- 
tions with  Virginia,  and  wrote  back  to  their  officers  here,  that 
"a  free  and  unshackled  commerce  with  that  nation  mnst  be 
conducive  to  the  prosperity  of  your  city  and  its  inhabitants." 
But  the  growing  greatness  of  the  Dutch  province  pro- 
voked the  jealousy  of  England.  In  1662,  the  Virginian 
government  was  ordered  to  enforce  the  British  act  of  navi- 
gation, Avhich  excludad  all  foreigners  from  trade  or  com- 
merce with  the  English  colonies.  This  was  followed  by  a 
still  more  decisive  step.  Disregarding  the  peaceful  occupa- 
tion, for  half  a  century,  of  New  Netherland  by  the  Holland- 
ers, Charles  II  conveyed  by  a  patent  to  his  brother  James, 
the  Duke  of  York,  the  whole  of  the  Dutch  pi'ovince,  Avliich 
then  contained  full  ten  thousand  inhabitants,  and  sejit  an 
overpowering  force  to  seize  it  as  a  prize.  New  Amsterdam, 
with  a  population  of  fifteen  hundred — ^but  in  no  condition 
to  resist — was  surrendered  to  the  Eoyal  expedition  on  the 
eighth  of  September,  1664,  and  its  name  was  at  once  changed 
to  "  New- York."  The  English  flag  was  displayed  on  that 
beautiful  spot  "  where  the  commerce  of  the  world  may  now 
be  watched  from  shady  walks;"  and  Nicolls,  the  Royal 
Governor,  foreseeing  the  destiny  of  the  metropolis,  soon 
wrote  home,  "  within  five  years  the  staple  of  America  will 
be  drawn  hither — of  which  the  brethren  of  Boston  are  very 
sensible." 

Such  were  the  early  days  of  our  city.  It  is  profitable  to 
remember  the  years  of  old,  and  call  to  mind  our  "  rude  be- 
ginnings." While  we  contemplate  the  cradling  of  the  State, 
and  then  think  of  its  maturing  grandeur,  we  thank  God, 
and  take  corn-age.  Grateful  for  the  rich  inheritance  with 
which  Providence  has  endowed  us  here,  and  looking  hopefully 
forward  into  the  future,  we  shall  best  show  our  veneration 
for  those  who  founded  our  prosperity  by  remembering  their 
maxims,  emulating  their  virtues,  and  surpassing  their  zeal. 
.  The  next  century  was  full  of  occurrences  peculiarly  af- 


12 

fecting  the  fortunes  of  ISTew-York.  The  colonial  policy  of 
England,  of  -which  it  had  now  become  a  dependency,  was 
jealous  and  hurtful.  The  Navigation  Laws  were  meant  and 
were  used  for  the  beneht  of  the  mother  country  alone.  They 
pressed  with  especial  weight  upon  the  commerce  of  our  city. 
Yet,  in  spite  of  the  incubus  of  a  foreign  administration, 
New- York  held  her  OAvn,  and  advanced.  Her  geographical 
position,  midway  between  the  North  and  the  South,  made 
her  the  Pivot  Province^  and  the  theatre  of  awfully  dramatic 
war.  The  burning  of  Schenectady  in  1690 — the  campaign  of 
Dieskau  in  1755 — the  attacks  of  Oswego  in  1756,  and  Wil- 
liam Henry  in  1757 — the  defeat  of  Abercrombie  at  Ticon- 
deroga  in  1758,  Avhich  all  occurred  Avithin  our  borders,  were 
but  a  few  of  the  events  of  that  long  struggle  between  France 
and  England  for  ultimate  dominion  in  North  America, 
which  ended  only  with  the  surrender  of  Canada  to  Great 
Britain  in  1763. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  New- York,  always  commercial, 
and  so  happily  placed,  should  have  exercised  a  commanding 
influence  upon  the  destinies  of  this  country.  It  is  not  less 
gratifying  to  know  that  her  merchants  Avere  always  among 
the  foremost  to  maintain  the  cause  of  popular  rights,  and 
promote  the  progress  of  humanity. 

When  Great  Britain,  in  1765,  opened  the  ball  of  the  revo- 
lution by  passing  the  Stamp  Act  without  our  consent,  New- 
York  took  the  lead  in  resistance.  On  the  seventh  of  Octo- 
l)er  in  that  year,  the  first  Congress  of  tlie  7\merican  colonies 
— the  ovum  reipuhliae^  "  the  egg  of  the  rcj.iublic,"  as  it  has 
been  aptly  termed — met- in  this  city,  "in  o}iposition  to  the 
tyrannical  acts  of  the  British  Parliament."  The  five  dele- 
gates from  the  pi'ovince  of  New-York  wisrc  Robert  E.  Liv- 
ingston, John  Crugcr,  Philip  Livingston,  William  Bayard 
and  Leonard  Lispenard.  Of  these  the  first  Avas  an  able 
lawyer,  whose  distinguished  son  subsequently  became  Chan, 
ccllor  of  the  State.     The  i^ther  four  wove  eminent  morcliants, 


13 

who  soon  afterwards  assistsd  in  founding  and  sustaining  our 
"  Chamber  of  Commerce."  The  first  step  taken  by  the 
Congress  was  to  adopt  a  "  Declaration  of  the  rights  and 
grievances  of  the  Colonics."  '^J'his  was  drawn  up  by  John 
Cruger,  then  Mayor  of  the  city  of  New-York,  and  Speaker 
of  the  Provincial  Assembl}^  While  the  Congress  was  sitting, 
our  merchants  held  a  meeting  on  the  thirty-first  of  October, 
and  unanimously  resolved  not  to  import  any  goods  from  Eng- 
land unless  the  Stamp  Act  should  be  repealed.  Thus,  the 
chosen  home  of  commerce  voluntarily  renounced  it ;  and  the 
example  of  New- York  swayed  the  other  colonies.  "  The 
whole  city  rose  up  as  one  man  in  opposition  to  the  Stamp 
Act."  Colden,  the  lioyal  Lieutenant  Governor,  Avas  obliged 
to  yield  to  the  demand  of  the  Common  Council,  which  re- 
presented the  people.  The  obnoxious  stamps  were  delivered 
to  Cruger,  the  Mayor,  and  deposited  in  the  Cit}^  Hall : — and 
so  the  people  triumj)hed.  Two  months  afterwards  ten  boxes 
of  stamps  were  taken  from  on  board  a  brig  lying  at  Burling 
Slip,  which  had  just  arrived  from  London,  and  carried  up 
the  East  Kiver  to  near  Rutgers'  Place,  where  they  were  con- 
sumed in  a  bonfire.  The  news  reached  England  while  Par- 
liament was  in  session;  and,  on  the  eighteenth  day  of 
March,  1766,  the  reluctant  king  went  in  state  to  Westmins- 
ter, and  gave  his  royal  assent  to  the  bill  which  that  Parlia- 
ment had  passed  for  the  repeal  of  their  Stamp  Act. 

Two  3' ears  after  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act,  on  the  fifth 
day  of  April,  1768,  some  twenty  of  the  leading  merchants 
of  this  city  met  and  formed  themselves  into  a  society  by  the 
name  of  the  "New-York  Chamber  of  Commerce."  John 
Cruger — the  same  who  had  drafted  the  "Declaration  of 
rights  "  and  taken  possession  of  the  obnoxious  stamps — was 
chosen  President ;  Hugh  AVallace,  Vice-President ;  Elias 
Desbrosses,  Treasurer ;  and  Anthony  Van  Dam,  Secretar}'. 
Of  this  society,  thus  organized  eighty -six  years  ago,  the 
official  records  to  the  present  day  have  been  preserved  un- 


14 

broken  and  unmutilatecl.  It  received  a  royal  charter  on  the 
thirteenth  of  March,  1770.  After  the  revolution,  the  Legisla- 
ture of  this  State  passed  an  act  on  the  thirteenth  of  April,  1784, 
confirming  the  royal  patent,  and  establishing  as  a  body  corpo- 
rate and  politic,  "  The  corporation  of  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce of  the  State  of  ]S^e^^'-York."  What  has  been  the  in- 
fluence of  this  venerable  institution? — who  were  its  eminent 
members  ? — how  well  they  fulfilled  their  trusts — have  all 
been  ably  developed  by  one  of  their  own  number,  the  pre- 
sent accomplished  President  of  Columbia  College,  Chas.  King. 

Passing  rapidly  on,  Avitli  only  a  bare  allusion  to  the  in- 
auguration of  Washington  as  the  first  President  of  the  United 
States,  on  the  thirtieth  day  of  April,  1789,  (which  interesting 
event  took  place  on  the  balcony  of  the  old  City  Hall  at  the 
head  of  Broad  street,  now  replaced  by  the  Custom  House,) 
we  come  to  tlic  beginning  of  this  century.  Since  then,  al- 
though the  seat  of  government  has  gone  soutliAvard,  the  seat 
of  the  metropolis  has  become  only  more  stably  fixed.  Great 
events  happened,  as  if  to  mark  her  progress  in  greatness. 
On  the  seventh  of  August,  1807,  our  own  Fulton  reached  Al- 
bany in  his  steamboat  "Clermont,"  in  thirty-two  hours  from 
her  wharf  at  New- York — the  first  successful  experiment  in  the 
world  in  steam  navigation.  The  next  year  Robert  L.  Ste- 
vens navigated  his  steamer,  the  "  Phenix,"  from  this  port  to 
Philadelphia,  and  thus  earned  beyond  dispute,  the  honor  of 
having  first  triumphantly  encountered  the  ocean  with  a  ves- 
sel driven  by  steam.  Ten  years  afterwards,  in  1818,  "the 
Savannah,"  a  New- York  built  ship,  with  side  wheels,  and 
propelled  by  steam  and  sails,  ci'ossed  the  Atlantic,  reached 
Liverpool  and  Saint  Petersburg,  and  returned  safely  hithci'. 
A  year  aTtcrwards,  the  "Kobert  Fulton,"  built  by  Henry  Eck- 
fbrd,  began  to  ])ly  as  a  steam  packet  between  this  city  and 
New  Orleans.  It  Avas  not  until  the  s])ring  of  1837  that  the 
first  Engli.sli  steamer,  "  The  Smius,"  anchored  in  our  harbor. 

The  grand  Eric  canal,  which  connects  Now- York  with 


15 

the  mediterranean  seas  of  our  continent,  was  completed  in 
1825  ;  on  the  fourth  of  November  in  Avhich  year,  Governor 
Clinton,  with  imposing  ceremony,  consummated  the  union 
of  Lake  Erie  with  the  Atlantic.  Vast  lines  of  railways  were 
soon  projected,  under  the  encouragement  afforded  by  the 
success  of  the  first  road  of  the  kind  constructed  in  this 
country-7-that  between  Albany  and  Schenectady,  which  was 
finished  in  1831.  And  now,  tlie  Erie,  Central  and  Hudson 
River  roads  arc  inadequate  to  their  increasing  business.  Nor 
should  our  majestic  Croton  Aqueduct,  nor  our  institutions 
of  charity  and  benevolence,  our  Ten  Governors  and  our 
Commissioners  of  Emigration,  our  colleges  of  learning,  our 
libraries,  our  literary  and  historical  societies,  our  managers 
of  capital  at  home  and  on  the  sea,  be  omitted  from  the  ne- 
cessarily brief  and  imperfect  catalogue. 

As  most  satisfactory  and  appropriate  to  this  occasion, 
however,  I  ask  your  j^ermission  to  exhibit  the  progress  of 
our  city  by  some  statistics  which  have  been  carefully  com- 
piled from  official  sources.  At  the  beginning  of  this  cen- 
tury, the  population  of  the  city  of  New- York  was  about 
61,000.  The  ofiicial  returns  of  the  census  of  the  United 
States,  in  1850,  show  ns  that  we  had  then  groAvn  to  515,39-1 
— 'an  increase  in  50  years  of  815  per  cent.  In  the  year  1800, 
the  value  of  goods  exported  from  the  district  of  NeAV-York 
was  $13,978,123  ;  in  1853,  the  value  was  93,828,526,  ex- 
hibiting an  increase  of  671  per  cent.  From  1821  to  1853, 
the  value  of  goods  imported  into  the  district  had  arisen  from 
$26,020,012  to  $195,962,401— being  an  increase  of  753  per 
cent.  The  gross  amount  of  duties  collected  in  the  district 
of  New- York  in  the  year  1800,  Avas  $3,611  588.  In  the 
3^ear  1853,  there  were  collected  $12,4:10,594— showing  an 
increase  since  the  beginning  of  the  centmy  of  1174  per 
cent.  And  it  is  a  significant  fact,  that  the  largest  increase  of 
revenue  occurred  under  a  falling  tariff,  and  the  development 
of  the  benign  and  liberalizing  principle  of  free  trade. 


16 

In  the  year  1846,  the  Independent  Treasury  was  success- 
fully established.  The  receipts  in  the  office  of  the  Assistant 
Treasurer  at  New- York,  from  the  sixteenth  day  of  October, 
1846,  to  the  thirty-first  of  December,  1847,  were  $24,620,601, 
and  the  payments  $23,639,691.  During  the  year  1853,  the 
Assistant  Treasurer  received  $47,353,615,  and  paid  out 
$47,306,869 — showing  an  increase  of  receipts  and  payments 
since  1846  of  about  95  per  cent.  During  that  period,  the 
whole  amount  of  money  received  b}^  the  Assistant  Trea- 
surer was  $233,577,235,  and  the  whole  amount  paid  out 
$231,395,190. 

In  the  3'ear  1821.  the  whole  amount  of  tonnage  entered  in 
the  district  of  New- York  was  171,963  tons.  During  the 
year  1853,  there  were  1,813,255  tons  entered — showing  an  in- 
crease of  tonnage  in  thirty-two  years  of  1054  per  cent.  On 
the  first  day  of  January,  1800,  the  whole  amount  of  registered, 
enrolled  and  licensed  tonnage  in  the  district  of  New- York, 
was  155,859  tons.  On  the  first  day  of  January,  1854,  there 
were  1,063,079  tons — showing  an  increase  from  1800  to  1854 
of  682  per  cent.  I  will  only  add,  that  during  the  year  end- 
ing on  the  thirtieth  of  June,  1853,  tliere  were  built  in  this  dis- 
trict, eighteen  ships,  five  brigs,  sixty-six  schooners,  ninety- 
seven  sloops  and  canal  boats,  and  fifty-eight  steamers — in  all, 
two  hundred  and  forty-four  vessels,  witli  an  aggregate  of 
08,454  tons.* 

These  figures  tell  their  own  story.  We  have  seen  the 
past  and  the  present  of  our  city.  But  who  can  adequately 
estimate  the  future,  when  the  Isthmian  and  continental 
lines  of  communication  shall  connect  us  directly  with  our 
sister  city  on  the  Pacific — we,  inviting  and  receiving  the 
wealth  and  the  abundance  of  eastern  Europe — she,  opening 
her  "  golden  gate  "  to  still  more  eastern  Japan  ?     The  rivalry 


*  In  tho  Appendix  will  be  found  statistical  tables  giving  more  full  details. 


17 

nevertheless  shall  be  amiable ;  the  more  intelligent  our  mer- 
chants become,  the  more  fully  will  they  appreciate  their  high 
position  as  well  as  their  great  responsibilities.  And  while 
on  this  subject,  I  take  great  pride  and  pleasure  in  referring 
to  the  fact,  that  one  of  the  best — if  it  is  not  the  very  best — 
of  the  commercial  magazines  of  the  day  in  the  world, 
Hunt's  Merchants  Magazinp],  is  edited  and  published — 
where  it  ought  to  be — in  this  city. 

And  yet,  though  the  material  prosperity  of  New- York 
had  been  thus  growing  great,  and  her  majestic  future  rising 
in  certain  view,  she  remained  in  some  respects,  for  a  long 
time,  far  behind  Boston  and  Philadelphia.  Learning,  and 
science,  and  literature,  it  is  true,  were  not  neglected  here. 
But,  it  is  er[ually  true,  that  these  great  interests  were  too 
little  thought  of  among  the  body  of  those  merchants  who 
owed  so  much  to  the  genial  mother  who  had  dealt  with  them 
so  kindly.  Still,  there  were  not  wanting  those  who  looked 
out  with  hope  for  the  coming  time  when  the  servants  of 
commerce  should  be  just  to  their  own  class,  in  elevating 
themselves  and  those  who  were  to  follow  them  to  a  con- 
dition which  should  be  in  every  respect  worthy  of  the  city 
of  their  habitation. 

At  length,  the  time  came.  About  thirty -four  years  ago,  in 
the  autumn  of  1820,  a  number  of  young  men,  chiefly  clerks, 
who  were  boarding  m  a  house  in  the  central  part  of  Pearl- 
street,  formed  themselves  into  a  debating  societ}^,  for  mutual 
improvement.  They  soon  found  the  want  of  a  proper  sup- 
ply of  books,  and  often  discussed  the  means  of  obtaining 
them.  At  the  suggestion  of  one  of  their  number,  Lucius 
Bull,  they  determined  to  attempt  the  establishment  of  a 
library ;  and  a  few  volumes  were  collected,  generally  dona 
tions  by  themselves.  Other  preliminary  measures  were  in 
progress,  when  a  notice  appeared  in  the  newspapers,  calling 
a  meeting  of  merchants'  clerks,  to  consider  and  adopt  steps 
to  establish  a  library  and  reading-room  for  their  own  benefit. 
3 


18 

The  original  notice  (whicli  is  preserved  in  a  frame  in  the 
library)  bears  the  initial  •'  AV."  It  was  written  bj  Wil- 
liam Wood,  then  temporarily  residing  in  this  city,  and  now, 
or  lately,  in  Ontario  county  in  this  State.  A  meeting  was 
accordingl}-  held  at  the  Tontine  Coffee-House,  at  the  north- 
west corner  of  Wall  and  Water  streets,  on  the  ninth  of 
November,  1820,  of  which  Churchill  C.  Cambreleng,  then  a 
prominent  merchant  of  this  city,  was  chairman.  It  was 
then  resolved  to  form  an  association  for  the  purpose  of  estab- 
lishing a  librar}^  At  a  subsequent  meeting,  on  the  twenty- 
seventh  of  the  same  month,  the  association  was  organized  by 
the  adoption  of  a  constitution  and  the  election  of  officers. 
Sixty-four  of  our  first  merchants  were  at  the  same  time 
made  honorary  members. 

The  first  Board  of  Officers  of  the  Mercantile  Library 
Association  were  : — Lucius  Bull,  President :  George  S. 
RoBBixs,  Vice-President;  Allen"  Kobbixs,  Secretary ;  Ste- 
phen S.  Steele,  Treasurer ;  Daniel  Le  Roy,  Samuel  L. 
Mitchell,  Jr.,  William  Wood,  James  E.  Smith,  John  L. 
Gardiner,  Alexander  Main,  Jeremiah  II.  Taylor, 
William  Antiion,  Allen  C.  Lee,  Directors. 

The  next  step  was  to  hire  a  room  in  the  second  story  of 
No.  49  Fulton-street,  and  engage  a  Librarian.  Committees 
were  then  appointed  to  wait  upon  the  merchants  and  solicit 
money  and  books,  and  upon  the  clerks  to  invite  them  to  be- 
come members.  In  most  cases  these  committees  were  cour- 
teously received,  and  aid  was  liberally  furnished.  In  a  few 
instances  only,  the  committees  were  met  with  refusals,  and 
threats  to  discharge  from  employment  such  clerks  as  might 
exhibit  inconvenicntlitcrary  propensities  while  in  the  count- 
ing-room. The  library,  however,  was  opened  on  the  twelfth 
of  February,  1821,  Avilh  about  seven  liuiidrrd  volumes  of 
valuable  books,  chielly  contributed  by  merchants.  The  first 
book  presented  to  tlie  association  was  Hume's  History  of 
Kngland,  the  gift  of  De  Witt  Clinton,  then  Governor  of  the 


19 

State.  Among  tlie  most  earnest  of  its  early  benefactors 
were  John  R.  Hurd,  Isaac  Carow,  John  Pintard,  Churchill 
C.  Cambreleng,  and  William  W.  Woolsey,  of  this  city. 

"When  the  library  was  opened,  the  number  of  members 
was  one  hundred  and  seventy-five.  But  it  was  soon  found 
that  their  expenses  rapidly  increased,  while  new  associates 
were  added  but  slowly.  A  meeting  was  called,  and  the 
state  of  their  affairs  considered.  It  was  resolved  to  raise 
among  themselves  enough  to  pay  their  debts ;  and  a  suffi- 
cient sum  was  contributed,  in  amounts  from  six  cents  up- 
wards, to  relieve  embarrassment,  and  even  purchase  a  few 
more  books.  The  Chamber  of  Commerce  was  also  appealed 
to — and  not  in  vain.  In  February,  1823,  a  report  was  made 
to  that  body,  setting  forth  the  merits  of  the  Mercantile  Li- 
brary Association,  commending  it  to  the  special  regard  of  the 
Chamber,  and  recommending  an  appropriation  of  $250  in 
aid  of  its  objects.  This  was  granted;  and  a  standing  com- 
mittee was  ordered  to  be  annually  appointed  to  visit  and 
report  on  the  condition  of  the  association.  In  the  same 
year  proper  measures  were  taken  to  incorporate  "  The  Mer- 
cantile Library  Association,''''  under  the  general  law  of  1796. 

With  increase  of  means,  members  and  books,  it  was 
found  necessary  to  provide  more  ample  accommodations.  A 
room  was  accordingly  procured  in  the  house  of  the  Brothers 
Harper,  in  Cliff-street,  whither  the  library  was  removed  in 
1826.  It  contained  at  that  time  2,200  volumes,  and  the 
number  of  its  members  was  438. 

A  system  of  lectures  was  also  adopted  about  the  same 
period ;  and  its  adoption  was  the  fol-erunner  of  rapidly  in- 
creasing prosperity.  The  association  had  now  so  completely 
fulfilled  the  hopes  and  expectations  of  its  friends,  that  it 
was  determined  to  place  it  at  once  on  a  basis  worthy  of  the 
dignity  of  its  object  and  the  importance  of  the  metropolis. 
A  meeting  of  prominent  merchants  was  accordingly  held  at 
the  library,  on  the  twenty-second  of  February,  1828,  at  which 


20 

it  was  agreed  to  raise  sufficient  f  Linds  to  erect  a  building  for  its 
accommodation.  Between  thirty  and  forty  thousand  dollars 
were  subscribed,  and  an  edihce  was  soon  commenced  on 
the  ground  at  the  corner  of  Beekman  and  Nassau  streets, 
which,  at  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Philip  Hone,  was  named 
Clixtox  Hall,  in  memory  and  in  honor  of  the  illustrious 
statesman  who  had  died  the  week  before,  on  the  eleventh  of 
February,  1828. 

The  subscribers  of  this  money  having  formed  themselves 
into  a  society,  obtained  an  act  of  the  Legislature,  on  the  twen- 
ty-third of  February,  1830,  incorporating  them  by  the  name 
of  "  The  Clinton  Hall  Association  in  the  City  of  New-York^'''  for 
the  cultivation  and  promotion  of  literature,  science,  and  the 
arts.  Of  this  corporation,  William  W.  Woolsey,  Philip 
Hone,  Arthur  Tappan,  John  Haggerty,  Francis  Olmstead, 
John  W.  Leavitt  and  John  A.  Stevens,  were  declared  to  be 
the  lirst  Trustees.  On  the  2d  of  November  following,  articles 
of  agreement  were  signed  between  the  Clinton  Hall  Associa- 
tion and  the  Mercantile  Library  Association,  by  which  it  was 
covenanted  that  the  library  should  occujjy,  Iree  of  rent,  two 
rooms  and  other  accommodations  in  Clinton  Hall ;  and,  like- 
wise, that  the  whole  surplus  income  of  the  library  should  be 
annually  invested  in  books,  the  use  of  which  should  be  equal- 
1}'  free  to  the  stockholders  and  members  of  both  associations. 

Under  this  liberal  agreement,  the  Mercantile  Library  As- 
sociation, the  same  evening,  entered  into  j)ossession  of  its 
commodious  apartments  in  Clinton  Hall.  Tlic  number  of 
its  members  at  that  time  was  1,200,  and  its  library  contained 
about  6,000  volumes.  The  same  year  the  corporation  of 
Columbia  College  made  provision  for  tlie  gi'atuitous  educa- 
tion of  two  scholars,  to  Ije  named  by  the  Association.  This 
was  followed,  in  1845,  by  equal  liberality  on  the  part  of  the 
New- York  University.  It  is  very  gratifying  to  know  that 
several  of  the  scholars  uj'jon  these  foundations  have  gradu- 
ated with  high  distinction. 


21 

Classes  were  also  established  by  the  Association,  in  the 
year  1838,  for  the  study  of  chemistry,  drawing,  penmanship, 
and  the  French,  German  and  Spanish  languages.  Under  the 
supervision  of  able  professors,  these  classes,  and  others  of  a 
kindred  character,  which  were  subsequently  added,  have 
been  eminently  beneficial. 

A  museum  and  a  cabinet  were  also  founded,  chiefly  by 
the  exertions  of  Henr}^  P.  Marshall,  who  deserves  to  be  espe- 
cially mentioned  as  one  of  the  most  earnest  and  useful  mem- 
bers of  the  Association.  A  galaxy  of  equally  worthy  names 
might  readily  be  exhibited  here.  But  we  are  constrained  to 
pass  them  by,  with  the  single  remark,  that  an  appropriate 
monument  in  the  librar}^,  erected  by  the  Association,  marks 
the  gTateful  regard  in  which  the  memory  of  John  W.  Steb- 
BINS  is  held  by  those  in  whose  service  he  labored  so  earn- 
estly and  so  well. 

Twenty  years  make  great  changes  in  the  city  of  New- 
York.  In  1830,  the  neighborhood  of  the  Park  was  thought 
to  be  the  best  site  for  Clinton  Hall.  But,  in  1850,  it  was 
found  that  the  city  had  "gone  up  town,"  and  Clinton  Hall, 
which  had  become  inadequate  to  its  purposes,  must  follow. 
So,  after  much  deliberation,  it  was  determined  to  procure  a 
new  building,  which  should  be  convenient,  accessible,  and 
well  adapted  to  the  growing  wants  of  the  association.  The 
charter  of  the  Clinton  Hall  Association  was  accordingly 
amended  by  the  Legislature,  on  the  third  of  March,  1853,  and 
the  spacious  edifice,  recently  known  as  the  Astor  Place 
Opera  House,  was  purchased.  The  old  building  in  Beekman- 
street  was  sold  for  $100,000 ;  and  a  new  subscription  of 
stock  was  made,  to  the  amount  of  $60,000,  which  the  Trus- 
tees confidently  expect  to  increase  to  $100,000.  This  sum 
will  amply  cover  every  necessary  expense,  and,  in  the  end, 
form  a  large  endowment  for  the  increase  of  the  library. 

Eminent  architectural  skill  has  rendered  the  new  Clinton 
Hall  one  of  the  most  elegant  and  commodious  buildings  for 


22 

its  purposes  in  the  country.  Ttie  basement  contains  a  led 
ture-room,  easy  of  access,  well  ventilated,  and  capable  of 
seating  1,100  persons.  On  tbe  second  floor  is  the  reading- 
room,  sixty  feet  wide,  and  ninety  feet  long.  Above  this,  oc- 
cupying the  third  and  fourth  stories,  is  the  librar}' — an  ellip- 
tical room,  surrounded  by  Corinthian  columns,  and  sur- 
mounted by  a  dome.  It  is  admirably  arranged,  and  capable 
of  accommodating  120,000  volumes.  The  remainder  of  the 
building  is  devoted  to  class-rooms,  committee-rooms,  and 
other  apartments  connected  with  the  service  of  the  Associa- 
tion, or  to  be  rented  in  aid  of  its  revenue.  Happy  omens 
attend  this  day.  The  Mercantile  Library  Association  enters 
its  new  Clinton  Hall  with  Herculean  vigor.  It  has  -1,483 
members ;  its  annual  income  is  $9,165.  It  has  40,386  books 
in  its  library ;  and  the  annual  circulation  of  volumes  among 
its  readers  is  130,000. 

Since  1834,  the  progress  of  the  Mercantile  Library  Asso- 
ciation has  been  satisfactorily  exhibited  in  its  several  an- 
nual reports,  the  thirteenth  of  which  was  first  published  in 
that  year.  The  steady  increase  in  the  number  of  members 
— the  faithfal  application  of  funds  to  judicious  purchases  of 
books — the  regularly  enlarged  opportunities  for  class  in- 
struction— the  system  of  lectures,  maintained  for  twenty-six 
years  without  interruption — the  growing  dignity  of  the  In- 
stitution, which  these  records  set  forth — give  gratifying  evi- 
dences of  the  past,  and  the  fairest  hopes  of  the  future. 

A  new  era  is  now  dawning  upon  the  Association.  Its 
new  home  is  happily  placed.  Looking  around,  one  sees 
from  its  doors  the  noble  repositories  which  learning,  and 
science,  and  philanthropy,  andrehgious  faitli,  have  prepared, 
to  garner  up  their  treasures,  and  benefit  mankind.  Hard  by 
is  the  AsTOR  Library,  which  a  New-York  mercliant,  recog- 
nizing the  debt  he  owed  the  city  where  lie  had  prospered 
almost  without  a  parallel,  bequeathed  a  part  of  his  vast  abun- 
dance to  endow,  for  the  free  use  of  all.     And  as  near  at  hand, 


23 

is  the  rising  mouument  wliicli  another  of  our  own  most  es- 
teemed citizens,  Peter  Cooper,  in  his  own  lifetime  prefers 
to  dedicate  to  the  beneficent  purposes  which  his  active  bene- 
volence conceived. 

These,  and  other  kindred  institutions,  which  cluster  around, 
will  soon  render  New- York  the  "Athens  of  America,"  as 
she  is  now  confessed  to  be  its  metropolis.  Your  own  noble 
Association — suggested,  and  founded,  and  fostered  by  the 
clerks  and  merchants  of  New- York,  to  assist  in  moulding 
and  enlarging  the  characters  of  those  who  are  chiefly  en- 
trusted with  the  duty  of  sustaining  the  honor  and  maintain- 
ing the  pre-eminence  of  their  city— is  to  contribute,  in  no 
inconsiderable  degree,  to  this  result.  This  vast  assembly, 
honored  as  it  is  by  the  presence,  and  cheered  by  the  sympa- 
thy, of  the  Governor  of  our  State,  is  an  earnest  that  the 
pledge  which  tlie  representatives  of  our  commercial  classes 
have  solemnly  given,  shall  be  faithfully  and  characteristically 
fulfilled. 

To  this  institution,  then — more,  perhaps,  than  to  any  other 
in  our  land — ^may  we  look  for  the  creation  of  a  large,  gene- 
ral, and  growing  librarj^,  commensurate  with  the  necessities 
and  the  progress  of  our  metropolis.  How  can  it  fail  of  a 
splendid  success,  when  the  merchants  and  the  clerks  of  New- 
York  endow  it,  and  bid  it  go  on  ?  Already  it  can  count 
forty  thousand  volumes,  accumulated  almost  entirely  by 
youths  yet  in  the  counting-room,  and  selected  with  a  judg- 
ment which  does  them  the  highest  credit.  Few  but  those 
who  have  had  specific  experience  can  estimate  the  difficulty 
of  executing  the  delicate  task  of  selection.  A  glance  at  the 
catalogue  of  the  Mercantile  Library  Avill  abundantly  show 
how  Avell  this  duty  has  been  done  by  the  young  servants  of 
commerce  in  New- York.  It  may,  indeed,  be  called  well- 
nigh  a  literary  tvonder.    ■■ 

And,  doubtless,  under  the  impulse  given  by  its  "  hegira" 
to  that  commodious  edifice  which  we  have  met  to  inaugu- 


24 

rate,  fhe  Mercantile  Library  Association  in  tlie  city  of  New- 
York  Avill  be  made  more  practically  useful  than  heretofore. 
With  the  past  to  teach  them,  its  managers  will  be  but  the 
heralds  of  "  manifest  destiny,"  Soon  may  we  hope  to  see  a 
faculty  of  professors  regularly  maintained,  by  whom  the  lec- 
ture and  the  class  departments  shall  be  welded  into  a  Com- 
mercial UiSriVERSiTY,  worthy  of  the  dignit}'-  of  its  objects, 
worthy  of  its  founders  and  its  supporters,  and  worthy  of 
their  imperial  home. 

But  the  limits  which  have  been  assigned  to  me  have  been 
overpassed,  and  I  must  stop,  I  end  as  I  began.  Two  cen- 
turies ago,  the  prophecy  came  far  across  the  sea,  from  Father- 
land— "  When  the  ships  of  New  Netherland  ride  on  every  'part 
of  the  ocean ^  then  numbers^  now  looking  to  that  coast  loitli  eager 
eyes^  luill  he  allured  to  emharhfor  your  island.'''' 

Merchants  and  clerks  of  ISTew-York — ^you  have  seen  that 
prophecy  fulfilled !  Here,  upon  your  own  rocky  island — 
where  Dutch  sagacity,  liberality,  integrity  and  perseverance 
laid  the  foundations — Saxon  and  Celt,  German  and  French- 
man, Northerner  and  Southerner — men  of  all  races,  and 
tono"ues,  and  climes — types  of  our  Union's  blended  masses — 
have  worked  together  to  build  up  "  the  golden  throne  of 
commerce."  Eemembcr  the  teachings  of  your  history !  In 
your  hands  is  left  a  mighty  trust.     Be  ye  faithful  stewards. 


ADDRESS 


HIS  EXCELLENCY,  GOV.  HORATIO  SEYMOUR 


Mr.  Chairman  : — 

I  deemed  it  an  ofiicial  duty  to  accept  an  invitation  to  be 
present  on  tliis  occasion,  to  manifest  mj  admiration  of  the 
liberality  of  tlie  merchants  of  New-York  towards  this  insti- 
tution, and  my  respect  for  its  numerous  members,  who  have 
associated  themselves  together  for  the  purposes  of  self-im- 
provement. 

I  have  had  placed  in  my  hands  the  Constitution  of  this  As- 
sociation, which  states  its  objects  to  be  "to  facilitate  mutual 
intercourse,  extend  information  on  subjects  of  mercantile  and 
general  utility,  promote  a  spirit  of  useful  inquiry,  and  qualify 
ourselves  to  discharge  properl}^  the  duties  of  our  profession 
and  the  social  offices  of  life."  I  know  of  no  object  that  can 
more  commend  itself  to  our  sympathy  and  approval  than  the 
efforts  of  young  men  who  are  about  to  enter  upon  the  grave 
duties  of  life,  to  store  their  minds  with  useful  knowledge, 
not  only  for  the  purpose  of  rendering  themselves  successful 
in  their  honorable  pursuits,  but  to  make  themselves  educated 
and  respected  citizens.  They  do  not  intend  to  sink  them- 
selves into  subordination  to  their  business  afiairs,  but  to  ren- 
der these  subservient  to  their  advancement  as  men.  If  this 
institution  is  to  Ije  regarded  only  with  reference  to  its  indi- 
vidual members,  it  would  deserve  all  the  sympathy  and  sup- 
port which  it  now  receives  in  this  intelligent  and  enterpris- 
ing community.     But  I  desire  to  consider  it,  on  this  occa- 


26 

sion,  in  anotlier  light — not  merely  of  individual  or  local,  but 
of  State  and  national  interest.  In  order  to  estimate  its  im- 
portance to  our  wliole  country — to  its  commerce,  to  its  pros- 
perity, and  to  its  affairs — it  is  necessary  to  regard  the  rela- 
tionship which  this  great  city  bears  to  the  rest  of  our  com- 
mon country.  But,  before  I  proceed  upon  that  topic,  let  me 
for  a  moment  advert  to  one  of  its  objects — ^to  facilitate  mu- 
tual intercourse  among  its  members — by  which  I  understand 
it  is  their  design  to  promote  that  honorable  pride  of  their 
profession  which  will  induce  them  to  elevate  it  to  its  best 
estate — to  render  it  subservient,  not  only  to  their  individual 
interests,  but  also  to  the  honor  and  welfare  of  this  great  com- 
mercial metropolis. 

This  community  has  heretofore  evinced  a  want  of  pride  in 
its  numerous  institutions,  and  of  that  local  attachment  which 
has  characterized  some  of  its  commercial  rivals.  The  gen- 
tleman who  has  preceded  mc  has  clearly  and  succinctly  nar- 
rated some  of  the  striking  events  of  its  past  history.  He 
might  have  added  many  more  of  an  equally  honorable  cha- 
racter. And  permit  me  here  to  sa}',  that  this  public  is  under 
very  great  obligations  to  that  gentleman  for  the  ability  which 
he  has  displayed  in  laying  before  them  the  early  history  of 
New- York.  Far  be  it  from  me  to  advocate  a  spirit  of  local 
or  sectional  prejudice ;  but  I  honor  that  feeling  which  re- 
verences the  memory  of  their  forefathers,  displayed  by  the 
sons  of  New  England,  when,  in  erecting  'this  edifice  for  the 
worship  of  our  God,  they  designated  it  "  The  Church  of  the 
Puritans,"  to  perpetuate  the.  memory  of  those  who  established, 
upon  the  shores  of  Plymouth  Bay,  institutions  founded  upon 
principles  of  civil  and  religious  liberty.  The  citizens  of  this 
great  State,  I  trust,  will  also  hereafter  properly  estimate  the 
virtues  of  those  Dutch  ancestors  who  first  established  here  the 
beat  principles  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  and  who  poured 
out  freely  their  blood  and  treasure  in  assertion  of  those  great 
principles  which  our  government  is  designed  to  perpetuate. 


27 

As  I  stated  before,  in  order  that  we  should  appreciate  the 
importance  of  this  Association,  it  is  necessary  that  we  should 
dwell  for  a  moment  upon  the  present  and  prospective  com- 
merce of  this  city.  Commencing  where  the  beacon-lights 
upon  Long  Island  welcome  the  commerce  of  the  world  into 
your  harbor,  we  must  pass  up  the  noble  Hudson,  which  was 
appropriately  named  by  its  first  discoverers  the  "  River  of  the 
Mountains,"  and  contemplate  that  great  physical  phenomenon 
presented  by  its  passage  through  the  mountain  chain,  and 
note,  where  every  analogy  of  nature  would  teach  us  to  ex- 
pect its  current  to  be  broken  by  rocky  barriers,  the  deep  and 
sullen  flow  of  the  ocean  tide,  bearing  the  commerce  of  this 
city  through  the  mountain  barrier,  which  elsewhere,  through 
the  length  of  our  country,  interposes  formidable  obstructions 
between  the  fertile  valleys  of  the  West,  and  the  Atlantic 
coast  and  maritime  worlds.  Pass  up  the  fertile  Valley  of 
the  Mohawk,  and  traverse  the  plains  of  Western  New-York, 
to  where  you  find  Niagara  thundering  on  our  western  limits. 
Enterprise  and  skill  have  created  methods  by  which  this  ob- 
stacle has  been  overcome.  A  portion  of  its  torrent  has  been 
diverted  into  artificial  channels,  and  made  subservient  to  the 
use  of  man.  At  this  point,  which  would  seem  to  be  nature's 
own  stronghold,  where  she  had  most  firmly  entrenched  her- 
self, you  will  find  the  deep  and  awful  chasm  has  been  spanned 
by  an  almost  gossamer  bridge,  while  the  iron  track  of  the 
railroad  traverses  the  face  of  its  rocky  cliffs,  and  the  loco- 
motive shrieks  defiance  to  the  roar  of  the  cataract.  We 
must  then  pass  over  our  vast  inland  lakes,  and  traverse  the 
extended  plains  of  the  West,  till  we  reach  the  Mississippi, 
with  its  numerous  tributaries,  whose  united  length  would 
span  the  Avorld,  before  we  can  form  an  adequate  idea  of  the 
sources  of  the  commerce  of  our  country. 

While  our  State  has  the  advantage  of  an  easy  and  natu- 
ral communication  between  the  Atlantic  Ocean  and  the  Val- 
ley of  the  Mississippi,  and  while  the  channel  that  nature  has 


28 

made  for  tlie  path  of  commerce  between  the  bay  of  New- 
York  and  that  great  river,  is  so  free  from  obstructions,  that, 
at  certain  seasons  of  the  year,  even  without  the  aid  of  artifi- 
cial navigation,  they  are  linked  together  by  a  continuous 
connection  of  river,  lake  and  flood — ^yet,  in  striking  contrast 
with  this,  it  is  also  true,  that  the  harbors  upon  which  most 
of  the  great  commercial  cities  of  our  country  are  situated, 
are  supplied  with  waters  which  flow  from  our  territory. 

I  have  glanced  briefly  at  some  of  the  commercial  advan- 
tages which  this  city  enjoys,  to  show  that  its  harbor  is  not 
to  be  regarded  merel}''  as  the  mouth  of  the  Hudson,  but  as 
the  point  where  the  productions  of  vast  regions  of  our  coun- 
try are  to  be  exchanged  for  those  of  other  climes.  The  in- 
habitants of  our  own  State,  and  of  the  fertile  valleys  of  the 
West,  must  in  a  few  years  entrust  the  products  of  their  labor 
and  their  skill  to  the  care  of  those  who  now  constitute  the 
members  of  this  Association.  Their  intelligence  and  fidelity 
will  be  considerations  of  national  importance.  The  extent 
to  which  the  productions  of  our  soil  will  be  sent  into  the  dif- 
ferent markets  of  the  world,  will  depend,  in  a  great  degree, 
upon  their  skill  and  enterprise  as  merchants.  The  profes- 
sion in  which  they  are  about  to  engage  has  been  regarded  as 
one  of  great  dignity  and  interest  in  all  periods  of  the  world's 
history.  Heathen  mythology  exalted  the  early  navigators 
to  the  ranks  of  heroes  and  demigods.  Commerce  furnishes 
many  of  the  most  striking  figures  in  the  history  of  the  Old 
Testament,  and  for  the  sublime  verse  of  Milton.  But  at  no 
period  since  the  wisest  and  Avcalthiest  monarch  sent  ships  to 
the  isles  of  the  sea  to  bring  back  myrrh,  and  gems,  and  gold, 
has  commerce  exerted  a  greater  influence  than  at  present 
upon  the  condition  of  the  world  and  the  progress  of  events. 
At  this  time  the  mightiest  nations  of  Europe  are  exerting 
all  their  energies  to  send  out  disciplined  armies  and  naval 
forces  to  maintain  what  they  deem  to  be  their  national  rights 
and  liberties;    and  yet   these  mighty   efforts  will  fall  far 


29 

short  of  the  influences  which  tlie  merchants  of  this  city  are 
exerting  in  the  ordinary  course  of  their  pursuits,  in  bringing 
annually  to  this  port  three  hundred  thousand  persons  who 
are  seeking  the  protection  of  our  laws,  the  advantages  of  our 
institutions,  and  the  benefits  of  our  fertile  and  productive 
soil.  Whatever  may  be  the  result  of  the  present  European 
war,  it  will  fall  far  short  of  the  influences  which  immigra- 
tion to  this  country  will  exert  upon  the  relative  strength  and 
power  of  nations.  While  the  ranks  of  European  armies  will 
merely  serve  to  whiten  with  their  bleached  bones  some  bat- 
tle-field, those  whom  commerce  brings  to  our  shores  will 
build  up  flourishing  cities  and  States,  and  constitute  an  en- 
during source  of  national  wealth  and  greatness. 

I  have  glanced  briefly  and  imperfectly  upon  the  great  re- 
sponsibilities soon  to^devolve  upon  the  members  of  this  Asso- 
ciation. If  they  shall  possess  the  requisite  intelligence,  liber- 
ality and  enterprise,  they  may  render  this  city  not  only  the 
emporium  of  our  own  land,  but  it  may  be  hereafter  said  of 
her,  as  of  commercial  Venice — 

"  Herjdaugbtcrs  had  their  dowers 
From  spoils  of  nations,  and  the  exhausted  East 
Pour'd  in  her  lap  all  gems  in  sparkling  showers  ; 
In  purple  was  she  robed,  and  of  her  feast 
Monarchs  partook,  and  deemed  their  dignity  increased." 


APPENDIX. 


REPOET 


BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES  OF  THE  CLINTON  HALL  ASSOCIATION. 


The  trustees  of  the  Clinton  Halt  Associatiou,  at  this  important  epoch 
in  its  history,  desire  to  present  to  the  Stockholders,  in  a  brief  forin,  a  review 
of  its  past  financial  course,  and  a  statement  of  its  position  at  this  period. 

The  organization  of  this  Association,  you  are  aware,  sprung  from  a 
desire,  on  ihe  part  of  the  merchants  of  oar  city,  to  countenance  and  aid 
the  efforts  of  their  clerks,  in  the  creation  and  permanent  establishment  of 
a  library  and  reading-room  for  their  own  use.  This  Association,  in  fur- 
therance of  this  object,  assumed  the  duty  of  providing  tiiem  with  premises 
adapted  to  their  purpose,  free  of  charge.  In  the  year  1828  their  stock 
was  issued,  and  taken  to  the  extent  of  thirty-two  thousand  dollars ;  and 
the  lot  at  the  corner  of  Beekman  and  Nassau  streets  was  purchased,  and 
the  Ijuilding  erected  thereon,  hitherto  known  as  Clinton  Hall,  at  a  total 
cost  of  fifty-three  thousand  dollars.  Such  apartments  as  were  required  by 
the  Mercantile  Library  Association,  were  appropriated  to  them ;  and  from 
the  rental  acquired  from  the  remainder  of  tlie  building,  the  debt  incurred, 
which  existed  in  a  mortgage  upon  the  property,  of  twenty-one  thousand 
dollars,  was  gradually  liquidated — the  last  payment  thtTCon  having  been 
made  in  the  year  ISa'i.  Finding  ourselves,  at  this  jioint,  pressed  by  a 
necessity  for  enlarged  accommodations,  it  was  determined  by  your  Board 
to  disjjose  of  this  property,  and  seek  a  new  location,  wherein  the  requisite 
room  could  be  had  to  meet  the  rapid  growth  of  the  lii)rary. 

'J'he  search  for  such  aplace  resulted  in  the  jjurchase  of  the  Italian  Opera 
House,  -Astor  Place,  at  a  cost  of  one  hundred  and  forty  thousand  dollars, 
in  the  month  of  January,  1853,  which  was  arranged  by  a  payment  of  forty 
thousand  dollars  in  cash,  with  a  mortgage  ol'  one  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars. 'J'he  property  in  Jieekman-street  was  at  this  time  sold  by  your 
Trustees,  for  one  hundred  thousand  d(jilars,  tf)  tin;  Nassau  Bank. 

The  new  building,  upon  careful  examination,  was  found  to  be  substan- 
tial, and  susceptible  of  alteration,  to  suit  our  jiurposes  entirely.  Your 
Board,  therefore,  in  tiie  (|uestion  of  its  demolition  and  the  erection  of  a 
wholly  new  slructurt;,  or  the  alteration  of  the  interior,  and  the  improvc- 
mcnt  of  its  exterior,  dt'cidcMJ,  from  motives  of  (economy,  upon  the  latter 
course.     The  cost  of  the  alterations,  with  the  entire  furniture  of  the  build- 


31 

ing,  has  amounted  to  one  hundred  and  six  thousand  dollars.  To  meet  this 
large  expenditure,  beyond  the  means  of  the  Association,  it  was  determined 
to  issue  new  stock,  and  to  i-olicit  its  acceptance  at  the  hands  of  our  mer- 
chants, in  the  confident  expectation  that  we  should  thus  be  promptly 
placed  in  a  position  of  financial  ea^e.  Tlius  far,  the  amount  subscribed  is 
fifty-seven  thousand  dollars,  leaving,  at  this  point,  a  deficiency  of  cightj-- 
eight  thousand  dollars,  which  your  Board  confidently  hope  will  be  much 
further  reduced  by  the  continued  sale  of  stock.  The  income  from  rents 
thus  far  arranged,  is  six  thousand  dollars  ;  though  the  estimate  to  be  at 
present  formed,  is,  that  when  all  the  apartments  at  our  disposal  shall  be 
tenanted,  a  total  annual  receipt  of  ton  thousand  dollars  may  be  safely 
counted  upon. 

Your  Trustees  would,  in  conclusion,  ask  your  especial  attention  to  the 
fact,  that  the  aim  of  this  Association  is  no  other  than  to  fulfill,  at  the 
earliest  possible  period,  the  requirement  of  its  charter,  which  necessitates 
the  application  of  the  entire  income  of  the  property  held  by  us,  to  the 
purchase  of  books,  scientific  apparatus,  etc.,  to  be  placed  in  the  building 
for  the  use  and  l^enefit  of  the  members  of  the  Mercantile  Library,  as  soon 
as  your  property  is  free  from  debt. 

The  conveyance  of  the  'perpetual  enjoyment  of  all  the  literary  privileges 
of  the  Library,  to  which  the  possession  of  a  phare  of  one  hundred  dollar.* 
entitles  the  holder,  without  annual  charge,  (Ihe  fame  being  transferable.) 
renders  your  stock  of  high  value  to  those  who  properly  appreciate  such 
advantages  ;  and  as  in  the  issue  of  their  shares  the  only  means  of  hasten- 
ing the  auspicious  moment  above  referred  to.  is  found,  your  Trustees 
would,  in  closing  their  Report,  respectfully  solicit  the  support  of  your  in- 
fluence, and,  asfar  as  practicable,  your  active  co-operation,  in  the  increase 
of  the  number  of  our  subscribers. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

CHAS.  E.  MILNOR, 

Secuetaky. 

June  8th,  1854. 


REPORT 


DIRECTORS  OF  THE  MERCANTILE  LIBRARY  ASSOCIATION. 


Mr.  Chairman  : — 

I  beg  leave  to  submit,  on  behalf  of  the  Board  of  Direction  of  the 
Mercantile  Library  Association,  a  brief  statement  of  the  condition  and 
affairs  of  the  library  at  the  present  moment.  The  total  amount  of  mem- 
bers entitled  to  the  use  of  the  library  upon  the  1st  of  June  last,  was 
5,408,  as  follows  : — 

Annual  members 4-,412 

Honorary  members 103 

Life  members t) 

Subscribers  to  the  stock  of  old  Clinton  Hall 283 

"      of  new  Clinton  Hall 600 

Total ..5,408 

Of  that  number,  a  little  exceeding  one-half  are  composed  of  those  for 
whose  Ijenefit  the  institution  was  more  especially  founded — the  merchants' 
clerks.  The  removal  of  the  library  to  a  more  convenient  location,  it  is 
supposed,  will  lead  to  a  great  increase  of  membership  from  the  up-town 
residents  of  that  class. 

Among  the  members  of  the  Association  there  are  also  a  number  of  fe- 
male subscribers. 

Our  rooms  in  the  old  building  were  little  calculated,  during  the  last  few 
years,  to  attract  an  acquisition  of  female  subscribers  ;  nevertheless,  we 
have  succeeded,  under  disa(lvanlag(;s,  in  retaining  a  few  ;  but  now,  with  our 
choice  collection  of  literature  deposited  in  rooms  of  the  most  commodious 
and  inviting  nature,  our  location  in  the  quiet  midst  of  domestic  residences, 
and  our  rules  and  regulations  of  such  a  nature  as  to  protect  the  most 
modest  instincts,  we  have  every  confidence  in  our  ability  to  cause  a  large 
and  valuable  augmentation  of  our  membership  from  that  source. 

The  whole  number  of  volumes  placed  in  the  library  since  its  foundation 
in  1820,  is  4y,823,  a  large  luuuber  of  which  have  been  donated;  8,701 
volumes  hav(!  been  erased  from  the  catalogues,  as  lost,  worn  out.  &c.; 
making  the  actual  number  of  volumes  now  on  the  shelves,  41,122. 

For  the  same  period,  (thirty-four  years,)  there  has  been  c.vpended  for 
books  $72,381  79. 

The  annual  circulation  of  books  is  estimated  at  120,000  volumes. 

The  Association  also  possesses  a  fine  collectiDii  of  geographical  works, 
maps,  marine  charts,  globes,  A'c;  a  large  cabinet  of  specimens  in  geology, 
mineralogy,  coins,  curiosities,  with  a  uuml^er  of  valuable  j)ainlings,  and 
other  works  of  art,  mostly  reaching  us  through  the  generosity  of  the  public. 


33 

The  reading  room  is  farnisiied  with  two  Imndrod  and  fourteen  periodicals, 
magazines,  newspapers,  &c.,  representing  all  the  principal  cities  of  the 
United  States,  Great  Hritain,  and  the  European  continent.  Of  these  two 
hundred  and  fourteen  publications — 

AMERICAN.  BRITISH.  FRENCH.  GERMAN. 

37  are  daily  journals 31  2                    3                   1 

47        weeklies 26  12                   4                   5 

84        monthlies 39  37                    5                   3 

46         quarterlies 22  22—2 

Making  in  all 118  73  12  11 

Classes  are  formed  during  each  winter,  under  the  instruction  of  expe- 
rienced teachers,  of  high  character,  in  the  languages  and  other  branches 
of  a  useful  and  ornamental  nature. 

Classes  w^re  arranged  during  the  past  winter,  in  the  French,  Spanish, 
German,  and  Italian  languages,  and  in  book-keeping,  penmanship,  elocu- 
tion, phonography  and  vocal  music. 

Arrangements  are  also  made,  by  which  members  can,  throughout  the 
year,  avail  themselves  of  Disbrow's  riding  school,  Ottignon's  Gymnasium, 
and  the  principal  salt  water  baths,  at  but  a  slight  expense. 

The  class  system  originated  in  the  board  of  1838,  and  has  been  in  active 
operation  since. 

The  whole  number  of  pupils  taught  in  the  principal  branches,  np  to  the 
present  time,  was,  in  French,  825  ;  Spanish,  253  ;  German,  131 ;  book- 
keeping, 195;  penmanship,  138;  elocution,  91. 

The  lectures  of  this  Association  have"  been,  for  the  last  few  years,  of 
growing  importance  and  benefit.  The  unprecedented  success  attendant 
upon  the  lectures  of  Mr.  Thackeray,  has  nerved  the  board  to  the  utility  of 
procuring  the  highest  talent,  even  at  what  might  be  deemed  by  some  an 
extravagant  cost.  The  present  Board  of  Direction  are  exerting  them- 
selves to  sustain  the  high  character  which  this  branch  of  instruction  and 
entertainment  has  obtained,  and  are  now  in  treaty  with  some  of  the  most 
distinguished  native  talent,  as  well  as  in  daily  expectation  of  an  accept- 
ance of  an  offer  made  to  one  of  England's  most  popular  and  learned  men. 

Among  the  most  valuable  donations  ever  made  to  this  institution,  we 
estimate  the  four  free  scholarships  now  in  our  possession,  two  of  which 
were  donated  by  Columbia  College  in  1830,  and  two  by  the  University  of 
this  city,  in  1848.  These  benefices  are  constantly  filled  from  the  ranks  of 
the  members,  thereby  bestowing  the  invaluable  privilege  of  a  liberal  edu- 
cation without  expense  to  the  incumbent. 

Our  institution  will  long  have  cause  to  cherish  the  memory  of  Miss 
Elizabeth  Demilt,  for  the  liberality  and  kind-heartedness  which  prompted 
the  bequest  of  .'jrSjOOO,  which  we  i-eceived  during  1849.  This  is  the  only 
donation  of  muney  that  the  Association  has  received  since  1826  ;  it  is  se- 
curely invested  in  a  bond  and  mortgage  at  seven  per  cent,  the  interest  of 
which  is  applied  to  the  purchase  of  historical  and  illustrated  work's,  which 
collection  ;s  endorsed  and  known  in  the  library  as  "  Demilt  Fund  "  books, 
and  consists  of  seventy-seven  volumes,  bound  uniform  in  full  Russia  binding. 

Our  institution  is  frequently  indebted  to  the  prominent  men  of  our  coun- 
try for  valuable  contributions  of  books  and  public  documents,  and  often  to 
the  b3nevolent  attention  of  private  individuals  for  the  gift  of  rare  works, 
&c.,  which  could  not  otherwise  be  ol)tained  without  great  difficulty. 
Among  the  most  valuable  of  the  present  year's  donations  is  Canina's  cele- 
brated work  on  Homan,  Grecian,  and  Egyptian  architecture,  bestowed  on 

5 


84 

us  through  the  muuificence  of  C.  M.  Parker,  Esq.,  of  this  city,  and  an 
ele.i^ant  portrait  of  Lucius  Bull,  Esq.,  first  President  of  the  Mercantile 
Library  Association,  presented  by  our  predecessors,  the  Board  of  185o. 

Repeated  solicitations  from  prominent  members  of  the  Library,  and  the 
conviction  of  the  iioard  of  Direction,  that  some  measure  should  be  adopted 
to  preserve  among  us  after  our  removal,  such  members  as,  on  account  of 
a  residence  in  the  lower  part  of  the  city,  or  in  the  adjacent  cities,  would 
find  it  inconvenient  to  procure  or  return  their  books  at  Astor  Place,  induced 
the  Board,  on  the  eve  of  the  removal,  to  establish  an  office  in  the  lower 
and  business  portion  of  the  city.  Various  plans  were  considered  by  the 
committee  to  whom  the  subject  was  referred,  such  as  connecting  it  with  a 
down-town  reading  room,  or  with  a  geographical  and  commercial  room  for 
reference  to  the  mercantile  community  ;  but  the  idea  of  establishing  it  un- 
connected with  any  other  purpose,  seeming,  under  every  consideration  the 
best,  it  was  finally  so  arranged.  An  office  was  procured  at  No.  2  Nassau 
street,  opposite  the  Custom  House,  and  opened  for  the  delivery  and  recep- 
tion of  books,  on  Wednesday,  May  17,  1854.  The  experiment  (for  such 
we  must  call  it)  offers  evidence,  thus  far,  of  its  success  and  consequent 
permanency.  Although  the  withdrawals  on  account  of  the  removal  of  the 
library  have  been  small  comparatively  with  the  predictions  of  the  oppo- 
nents of  the  removal,  yet  we  are  desirous  and  sanguine  of  reclaiming, 
through  the  aid  of  this  down-town  agency,  many,  if  not  all,  of  those  who 
have  withdrawn  for  that  cause. 

I  have  thus,  with  great  brevity,  shown,  as  much  for  the  information  of 
the  public  as  for  the  satisfaction  of  members  present,  the  most  important 
features  of  the  Association  as  they  exist  at  the  present  time,  as  well  as 
the  method  by  which  we  aim  to  advance  the  interests  of  the  institution, 
and  to  carry  out  the  spirit  of  the  constitution,  which  represents  the  pur- 
poses of  the  Association  to  be  the  facilitating  of  mutual  intercourse,  the 
extension  of  informati(jn  upon  mercantile  and  other  subjects  of  general 
utility,  the  promotion  of  a  spirit  of  useful  inquiry,  and  the  qualification  of 
ourselves  to  discharge  properly  the  duties  of  our  profession  and  the  social 
offices  of  life. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

WILLIAM  H.  GILDER,  Secretary. 
JcNB  8th,  1854. 


ARTICLES    OF    AGREEMENT 

BETWEEX   THK 

CLINTON  HALL  ASSOCIATION  OF  THE  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK, 

AND   THE 

MERCANTILE  LIBRARY  ASSOCIATION  OF  NEW-YORK. 


This  agreement  between  the  "  Clinton  Hall  Association  of  the  City  of 
New- York,"  of  the  first  piwt,  and  the  "  Mercantile  Library  Association 
of  the  City  of  New-York,"  of  the  second  part, 

Witnesseth,  That  irhcrcas  the  Clinton  Hall  Association,  in  view  of  their 
original  jolan  and  articles  of  subscription,  for  the  better  attainment  of  the 
objects  for  which  said  Association  was  established,  have  sold  the  building 
called  Clinton  Hall,  at  the  southw(  st  corner  of  Nassau  and  Beekman 
streets,  and  have  purchased  the  premises  known  as  the  Opera  House, 
situated  at  the  intersection  of  Astor-place  and  Eighth-street,  and  are 
altering,  arranging,  and  fitting-  up  the  same,  accoi'ding  to  their  plans  now 
adopted  ; — they  do  herel^y  stipulate  and  agree  with  the  Mercantile  Library 
Association  as  follows : 

1.  That  the  party  of  the  second  part  may  occupy,  free  of  rent,  two 
rooms  in  said  building,  designated  on  said  plans  as  the  Library  and  Read-  . 
ing  Room,  for  those  purposes  ;  also,  four  apartments  to  b^  set  apart  here- 
after, by  the  party  of  the  first  part,  for  class-rooms  (if  required)  and  other 
purposes,  in  accordance  with  the  objects  of  the  Mercantile  Library  Asso- 
ciation ;  and  may  also  use  the  lecture-hall  for  the  general  meetings  of  the 
association,  and  for  lectures  to  be  delivered  to  its  memljers,  as  often  as 
twice  in  each  week  ;  which  privileges  shall  be  enjoyed  under  such  terms 
and  conditions  as  are  hereinafter  expressed,  and  for  as  long  a  time  as  they 
are  fulfilled  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  party  of  the  first  part.  Additional 
room  for  the  library  and  reading-room,  and  additional  nights  for  the  use 
of  the  lecture-hall,  shall  be  set  apart,  if  necessary,  upon  the  same  con- 
ditions. 

2.  Xliiit  when  the  cost  of  altering,  arranging,  and  fitting  up  said  pre- 
mises, at  the  intersection  of  Astor-place  and  Eighth-street,  and  the  cost  of 
the  site,  with  the  accruing  interest,  shall  have  been  paid,  either  by  new 
subscriptions,  by  the  rents  of  the  building,  or  from  any  other  source,  the 
surplus  funds  arising  from  rents  shall  be  laid  out  in  such  books,  cabinets, 
or  scientific  apparatus,  as  the  party  of  the  first  part  may  deem  proper  ; 
the  said  party  reserving  to  itself  the  right  to  make  earlier  appropriations 
for  these  purposes.  All  such  books,  cabinets,  or  apparatus,  shall  con- 
tinue to  belong  to  the  party  of  the  first  part,  and  shall  be  deposited  in  the 
building,  and  be  used  by  the  members  of  the  Clinton  Hall  and  Mercantile 
Library  Associations,  under  such  regulations  as  may  be  made  by  the  party 
of  the  first  part  for  that  purpose. 


36 

And  the  party  of  the  second  part  doth  hereby  stipulate  and  agre?,  with 
the  party  of  the  first  part,  as  follows  : 

1.  That  its  Library  shall  be  deposited  in  the  room  or  rooms  of  said 
building"  appropriated  to  receive  it ;  that  the  room  or  rooms  set  apart  as 
reading-  rooms  shall  be  used  by  its  members  for  1hat  purpose,  and  that  the 
lecture-hall  shall  be  used  for  the  general  meetings  of  the  Association  and 
for  the  lectures  which  are  delivered  to  its  members. 

2.  That  during  the  continuance  of  this  agreement  it  will  pay  the  taxes 
on  said  building,  if  any  are  imposed  ;  and  will,  at  its  own  cost,  keep  the 
rooms  it  occupies  in  full  and  complete  rej  air,  and  defray  such  proportion 
of  the  expenses  of  lighting  and  warming  the  house  as  may  be  fair  and 
equitable. 

3.  That  the  whole  income  of  the  party  of  the  second  part,  after  defray- 
ing the  necessary  charges  of  the  establishment,  (not  including  the  expense 
of  lectures,)  shall  be  annually  invested  in  books,  which  shall  be  deposited 
in  the  Library  with  its  other  books  ;  and  the  shareholders  of  the  Clinton 
Hall  Association  shall  have  access  to  the  Library  free  of  charge,  under 
the  same  regulations  as  the  members  of  the  Mercantile  Library  Associa- 
tion are  subjected  to,  without  giving  to  such  shareholders  a  right  to  vote 
in  the  elections  of  that  Association. 

4.  That  in  ca?e  the  trustees  of  the  Clinton  Hall  Association  shall  be  of 
opinion  that  the  parly  of  the  second  part  s^'all  convert  the  rooms  it  occu- 
pies in  the  said  building  to  any  purpose  not  intended  by  the  i:»arty  of  the 
first  part,  or  that  the  character  of  the  Mercantile  Library  Asscciation 
shall  have  become  so  changed  that  its  u-eiulness  shall  have  ceased,  or  that 
it  shall  have  deposited  immoral  or  irreligious  books  in  itslibiary,  and  not 
removed  them  within  twenty  days  after  being  advised  to  do  so  by  the 
Trustees  of  the  Clinlon  Hall  Association,  or  that  they  shall  have  wilfully 
neglected  or  violated  any  of  the  stipulations  contained  in  this  agreement — 
then  the  said  Trustees  may  call  a  meeting  of  the  shareholders  of  the  Clin- 
ton Hall  Association  and  the  Directors  of  the  Mercantile  Library  Associa- 
tion, and  lay  before  the  meeting  the  facts  to  show  that  cither  of  those 
conlingencits  has  occurred  ;  and  the  shareholders  of  the  Clinton  Hall 
Association,  after  a  full  cons^ideratiou,  may  determine  to  resume  the  use 
and  occupation  of  the  rooms  so  appropriated,  and  the  Ijooks,  cabinets,  and 
appaiatus  purchased  by  the  party  of  the  first  part ;  and  such  deterniina- 
tion  shall  be  final  and  conclusive  on  the  party  of  the  second  ])art,  who 
shall  thereupon  surrender  and  give  up  the  premises  and  the  said  books, 
cabinets,  and  apparatus  to  the  party  of  the  first  ))art,  and  shall  remove 
from  sad  builiinig  after  thirty  days'  notice  of  such  ddermii.alion. 

5.  Thut  the  shareholders  of  the  Clinton  Hall  Association  may  attend 
the  course  of  lectuies  which  may  be  delivered  to  the  Mercantile  Library 
Association,  on  the  same  terms  as  are  enjoyed  by  its  members. 

Id  witi  ess  whereof,  tlie  said  jiartics  have  n.'sjiectively  caused  their  cor- 
porate seals  to  be  hereunto  afii.xed,  and  these  presents  to  be  signed  by 
their  respective  Presidents,  the  third  day  of  A'ovembcr,  one  thousand 
eight  liundred  and  tifty-three. 

TJnO  CLINTON  HALL  ASSOCIATION, 

By  Wilson  G.  Hint,  Presidcnl.     [i,.  s.] 

THE  MERCANTILE  LIBRARY  ASSOCIATION 

OF  THE  CITY  OF  NEW- YORK, 

By  WiiXARD  L.  Fki.t,  rresnlcuf.     [i,.  s.] 


STATISTICAL   TABLES 


PREPARED    BT    MR.    BRODIIEAD,    IX    CONNECTION    WITH    HIS    ADDRESS. 


STATEMENT     OF   THE   POPULATION    OF   THE   CITY   OF    NEW-YORK,   AT    VARIOUS 

PERIODS. 


1C56, 1,000 

1664, 1,500 

1673, 2,500 

1696, 4,302 

1731, 8,628 

1756, 10,381 

1773, 21,876 

1786, 23,614 

1790, 33,131 


1800, 60,489 

1810, 96,373 

1820, 123,706 

1825, 166,089 

1830, 202,589 

1835, 270.086 

1840, 312,852 

1845, 371,223 

1850, 515,394 


B 


VALUE  OF  GOODS  EXPORTED,  FOREIGN  AND  DOMESTIC,  FROM  THE  DISTRICT  OF 
NEW-YORK,  FOR  THE  YEARS 

1800, $13,978,123  00 

1825, 34,032,279  00 

1847, 53,072,163  00 

1850, 60,744,946  00 

1851, 87,966,488  00 

1852, 72,076,435  00 

1853, 93,828,526  00 

Increase  from  1800  to  1853,  671  2-10  per  cent. 


38 


VALUE  OF  GOODS  IMPORTED  INTO  THE  DISTRICT  OF  NEW-TORK,  FOR  THE  YEARS 

1821, $26,020,012  00 

1830, 37,291,727  00 

1841, 75,208,015  00 

1851,   139,607,540  00 

1853, 195,962,404  00 

Increase  from  1821  to  1853,  753  1-10  per  cent. 


D 

AMOUNT    OF  DUTIES   COLLECTED  ON    GOODS   IMPORTED  INTO   THE  DISTRICT  OF 
NEW-YORK,  FOR  THE  YEARS 

1800, $3,611,588  15 

1810, 5,223,696  45 

1820,  5,487,974  60 

1830, 15,012,553  29 

1840, 7,557,441  36 

1850, 27,820,058  11 

1851, 30,554,064  90 

1852, 30,697,825  50 

1853, 42,410,594  57  - 

Increase  from  1800  to  1853, 1174  3-10  per  cent. 


E 

STATEMENT  OF  THE  RECEIPTS  AND  PAYMENTS  AT  THE  OFFICE  OF  THE  ASSIST- 
ANT TREASURER  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES,  AT  NEW-YORK,  FROM  OCTOBER 
16,  1846,  TO  DECEMBER  31,  1853. 


PERIOD. 

RECEIPTS. 

PAYMENTS. 

From  Oct.  16,  '46,  to  Dec  31, 

'47,  14  mos,  17  days, 

$24,620,601  73 

$23,639,691  25 

For  year  ending  Dec.  31 

.1848, 

27,252,001  08 

26,428,355  37 

"             "             " 

1849. 

:54,(i52,002  04 

33,411,421  16 

"            "            " 

1850, 

29.949,060  31 

26,932,559  00 

II            II            II 

1851, 

34,530,685  14 

34,920,866  91 

II            II            II 

1852, 

35,818,269  52 

38,755,427  55 

II            II            ■. 

1853, 

47,354,615  74 

47,306,869  37 

$233,577,235  56 

$231,395,190  61 

Increase,  about  95  per  cent. ;  and,  if  brought  down  to  the  present  time 
it  wonld  be  1 00  per  cent. 


30 


F 


ABSTRACT    OF    TONNAGE    ENTERED     IN   THE   DISTRICT    OF    NEW-YORK,    IN    THE 
FOLLOWING  YEARS. 


YEAR. 

U.  S.  TONNAGE.  FOREIGN  TON'gE.      TOTAL. 

1821, 

1831, 

1841, 

155,723       16,240    '   171,963 

274,23714      62,772    1   337,009i< 
423,952 '4     125,0731^     549.0253^ 

1851, 

1,144,485'      479,5671^ 
1,321,674)4     491,5803X 

1,624,0521^ 
1,813,255 

1853, 

3,320,0713^' 

1,175,2331^ 

4,495,3051^ 

Rate  of  increase  of  U.  S.  tonnage  from  1821  to  1853, 

inclusive, 848%  pei"  cent. 

"  "        foreign  tonnage, 3,027  " 

"  "        total  tonnage, 1,054)^      " 


AMOUNT   OF   TONNAGE   REGISTERED,    ENROLLED    AND    LICENSED    WITHIN   THE 
DISTRICT    AND   PORT   OP    NEW-YORK,    OUTSTANDING   ON 

TONNAGE. 

January  1st,  1800, 155,859  85-95 

"  1810, 218,894  52-95 

"  1820, 292,406  58-95 

"  1830 315,613  40-95 

"  1840, 409,649  73-95 

"  1850, 720,303  35-95 

"  1854, 1,063,079  58-95 

Increase  from  1800  to  1854,  682  per  cent. 


40 


H 

STATEMENT    OF  NAME,  SIZE,  AND  DATE  OF  REGISTER  OF  THE  LARGEST  VESSEL 
BUILT  AT  NEW-YORK  IN  EACH  YEAR  SINCE  1808. 


1 

1 

DATE  OP 

YEAR. 

NAME. 

CLASS.             TONNAGE. 

REG'':TER. 

1808 

Manhattan. 

Ship. 

666.78 

Jan.  28th. 

1809 

Hercules, 

" 

554.03 

June  22d. 

1810 

General  Gates. 

« 

576.42 

Sept.  7th. 

1811 

Hannibal. 

u 

522.93 

Feb.  15th. 

1812 

Ontario. 

" 

527.73 

Auir.  12th. 

1813 

Bra^anza. 

(1 

469.82 

April  10th. 

1814 

Vixen. 

Schooner. 

230.71 

Nov.  7th. 

1815 

General  Brown. 

Ship. 

899  20 

Oct.  18th. 

1816 

William  and  John. 

(1 

371.48 

June  1st. 

1817 

James  Munroe. 

424.41 

July  12th. 

1818 

Jiegulus. 

1        877.17 

Aug.  loth. 

1819 

China. 

1        533.24 

Jan.  30th. 

1820 

Robert  Fulton, 

Steamer. 

702.39 

Nov.  3d. 

1821 

James  Cropper.          i       Ship. 

495.43 

June  4th. 

1822 

Superior.                                " 

575.56 

Aug  3d. 

1823 

Splendid. 

642.48 

Dec.  19th. 

1824 

Pacific. 

586.86 

Feb.  10th. 

1825 

Washington. 

741.60 

April  19th. 

1826 

j  Hope. 
1  Labrador. 

1,778.51 

April  Pith. 

1,765.07 

April  13th. 

1827 

John  Jay. 

502,85 

Oct.  22d. 

l«2a 

Caledonia, 

647.61 

June  14th. 

1829 

De  llham. 

492.03 

Sept.  19  th. 

1830 

Hibernia. 

551.04 

June  11th. 

1831 

United  States, 

984.74 

June  1st. 

1832 

Constitution. 

626.85 

Dec.  28tli. 

1833 

Yazoo. 

677.L'1 

Oct.  25th. 

1834 

Independence. 

732.70 

Aug.  7th. 

1835 

Shakspcare. 

747.49 

Jan.  27th. 

1836 

Garrick.                      !          " 

895.56 

Oct.  29th. 

1837 

Sheridan.                               " 

895.56 

Jan.  28th. 

1838 

Roscius.                                 " 

1,030.85 

Nov.  24th 

1839 

Patrick  Henry.           ;          " 

881.88 

Nov.  6th. 

1840 

Russell  Glover.           1          " 

795.30 

Sept.  24th 

1841 

Cornelia.                              " 

1,064^89 

May  4th. 

1842 

St.  Nicholas. 

797.44 

Jan.  31st. 

1843 

Queen  of  the  West,    i 

1,160.73 

Sept.  15th 

1844 

Yorkshire. 

(1 

996.81 

Jan.  15th. 

1845 

Henry  Clay. 

it 

1,207.37 

May  (ith. 

1846 

Columbia. 

i< 

1,050.75 

April  30th. 

1847 

Constitution.                         " 

1,327.22 

Feb.  22d. 

1848 

Andrew  Poster.                    " 

1,286.91 

IMarcli  28th. 

1849 

Washiiipton.                \          " 

1,655.42 

Nov.  22d. 

18.50 

Isaac  Webb. 

11 

1,359.74 

March  (Uh. 

1851 

Challenge. 

" 

2,006.51 

July  nth. 

1852 

Tornado. 

•1 

1,801.56 

Fob.  17th. 

1853 

Calhoun. 

« 

1,749.72 

Aug.  9  th. 

